Strength
by Spokenvoice
Summary: Sara shares something with a victim that she's never shared with anyone, the latest case to come to CSI Sidle hits alot closer to home than she'd like and forces her to deal with her past. Now she has to get justice... Snickers eventually!


**Strength**

Summary: Sara shares something with a victim that she's never shared with anyone, the latest case to come to CSI Sidle hits alot closer to home than she'd like and forces her to deal with her past. Now she has to get justice... pairing (Snickers) eventually!

Raiting: - T _(Sexual content and language)_

**Prologue**

"Please call me Sara" The brunette responded softly, as she lent forward looking at the woman before her. They were in Catherine's office, the only private area that the younger could grab in the crime lab. She wasn't one for the formalities her job brought – victims of crime have enough trouble on their plates and enough to deal with without been made feel inferior to those who claim to offer help. The woman before her was all of twenty, young – too young to have had her innocence robbed like she had. Sara's heart was in this case – in too deep – she knew that, and also knew that if Grissom knew just how much it was getting to her he'd pull her from it.

"Sara…" Tearfully the blond smiled, the appreciation was written all over her face. She had her arms wrapped protectively around her waist and it was visible to Sara that she was scared – "I just wanted to… to know what happens now?"

What happens now? Sara nodded her head – it was a good question – one that in all honesty she had no way of answering. A million and one things could happen from this point on – the only thing that she could truly promise was what the brunette settled on. "What happens now is that I am going out there and doing the very best I possible can to catch this guy. I promise – I won't stop till I make him pay…"

The blond, nodded, "Thank you" She offered through tears. She looked down to the floor – as if crying was something she should be ashamed of. Sara related to that exact feeling, she herself very rarely cried in front of anyone, she'd usually be in the solitude of her empty apartment before she'd let her emotions free. Also, saying she was not a people person was an understatement – there was a reason she was in the job she was in – she worked more with the dead than the living.

Nervously she reached forward placing a hand on the woman's knee – "Jessie… is there someone that you're staying with? Or… are you…alone in Vegas?"

Jessie looked to where Sara's hand was rested; she was comforted by the small gesture. She felt safe enough to open up to the CSI, "My mother was…was killed in an RTA… I never new my father…right now I'm staying with my sister..."

Sara nodded softly, happy that the victim, that Jessie wasn't on her own. "Well… I promise that I will do everything in my power to get this guy. All you can do, now…is trust me"

"Trust?"

"I know, after everything that's happened it's not an easy concept – hell it's hypocritical of me to expect someone to do something that I've never be able to do but…I'm not going to let you down. If I have to spend my time going over every part of that house a hundred times I will to get a conviction."

"You know, you're the only person to ever offer me help like this"

Sara just lent forward, "Listen to me… you may think no one cares but I do. And I know that there are a lab full of techs, officers and investigators out there who care. They are more than happy we got to you when we did. And I'm not just saying that… we are going to do everything that we can to help you." A few moments of silence and then she spoke again – "Listen to me – I know you will make it through this"

"How's that?" She asked. 

"Because…I've… I've made it through the exact same thing as you."

"You…you were…?"

Sara took a deep breath, then she slowly looked into the eyes of the woman before her and nodded her head – "Yeah…I was"

"But what if I'm not as strong as you…"

"Your stronger than me… you're here…you took the help that was offered. I didn't, I've never told anyone I was raped until now. If I can fight through it…you can. I'm not going to lie and tell you it'll all be okay – this is never going to be okay, you're life's changed forever."

The woman just nodded, before reaching forward and pulling Sara into an embrace – the first time since she'd been rescued she'd ever allowed contact. Even at the hospital she'd been near but held down during the examination. Sara hugged her back, pushing her own discomfort with human contact as far back as was possible. She knew that Jessie needed her comfort and her strength and she'd give it her. She'd give her the justice that she never gave herself.


End file.
